Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Throughout the STEP programme pharmacists are employed by one of the Trusts in South East London, and will work from one of the seven hospitals henceforth referred to as the “base hospital”. This advert is for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and the base hospital is Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

STEP pharmacists gain experience by completing 6 month placements at different base sites and should anticipate travelling to work anywhere within the STEP region, details of these are within the STEP Programme Handbook. Placements with other Trusts are managed through honorary contracts. 

 Job Summary:

To assist in the delivery of a comprehensive pharmacy service and to provide operational support to the department as agreed in the rotational programme.  

To undertake the Postgraduate Diploma in General Practice Pharmacy at University College London (UCL)  or equivalent Post Registration Foundation Pharmacist Development Programme, in order to meet the requirements of the NHS to be “fit for practice” and provide consistently high quality patient care. To work towards completion of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Foundation Pharmacy Framework for pharmacists in their first 1000 days of practice. Meet all of our professional, fitness to practise and ethical standards as set out by the GPhC. 

Detailed Duties: 

1. Dispensary services (where applicable)

• To follow procedures relating to good dispensing practice, and to maintain high standards and orderly methods of working.
• To be the Responsible Pharmacist.

• To comply with the formulary and dispensary policies.
• To dispense and check Outpatients and Inpatients scripts, including clinical trials and chemotherapy.
• To effectively clinically screen prescriptions and professionally resolve any problems or refer when appropriate.
• To effectively and efficiently counsel patients on the needs relating to their medicines.
• To deal with requests from members of staff and patients in a professional manner.
• To be aware of the overall dispensary workload, and by liaising with dispensary leads, to prioritise and effectively manage the workflow.
• To participate in dispensary audits and contribute to quality service assurance initiatives.
• To update dispensary protocols and standard operating procedures as required.

2. Technical services (where applicable)

• To assist in the provision of a comprehensive preparative service to the Trust and external customers. This can include aseptic dispensing and manufacturing, TPN, CIVAS, clinical trial preparation, non-sterile and sterile manufacturing and QC / QA activities, according to the service at the base hospital.  The post holder may work in the following areas on a rotational basis depending on base hospital working arrangements and rotas: aseptic services; the oncology suites or satellites; general manufacturing services (sterile and non-sterile production); quality assurance and control departments.
• To ensure that activities undertaken within the units meet current legislation such as GMP/GDP, GCP, Health and Safety, COSHH, and that all work is documented according to these procedures.
• To undertake when required preparation of all products following adequate training.
• To be aware of and follow standard operating procedures at all times.
• To be aware of and follow all quality assurance procedures and make the section manager aware of any deficiencies.
• To undertake, where relevant, clinical screening of prescriptions and to provide pharmaceutical advice on the use of medicines prepared during the rotation.
• To undertake the final check of dispensed and batch prepared products after appropriate training.

Additionally in some base hospitals:

• To record, cost and report the activities of the unit.

• To participate in education and training programs to develop skills as part of a commitment to CPD.

3. Medicines Information (MI) services (where applicable)

• To participate in the medicines enquiry answering service by the provision of accurate, evaluated and impartial up to date and helpful information & advice about medicines to ensure safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of medicines in patients.
• To assist Senior MI pharmacists in providing training in medicines information skills and knowledge to trainee pharmacists, visiting trainees and students, and in some base hospitals, pharmacy technicians.
• To participate in the maintenance and development of systems for the collection, storage retrieval and dissemination of information.

Additionally in some base hospitals:

• To be responsible for organising the educational drug lunches provided by Pharmaceutical Representatives for the pharmacy department.
• To participate in Journal Club meetings, this involves critically appraising trial data for discussion at the meeting.

4. Ward based pharmacy services

• To participate in the medicines management programme / clinical pharmacy services involving any of the following: ensuring accurate drug histories are taken and documented; patients own drug are reconciled; dispensing for discharge is facilitated; dispensing of medicines on the ward for patients to take home; communicate effectively with patients to improve adherence.
• To identify patients with complex pharmaceutical problems, propose solutions and refer these to more senior staff.
• To identify drug interactions, prioritise and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
• To monitor patients’ responses to drug treatments for efficacy and toxicity, prioritise these and take appropriate action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines.
• To identify errors on clerking including medication histories and allergies documentation, TTOs or on prescriptions initiated during the patient’s admission. Appropriately prioritise these and take best course of action (which may include referral to a more senior member of staff) to ensure patient safety.